Chicken potpie, the spinoff
It’s an upgrade to the typical frozen potpies that mothers used to serve when they’re lazy to cook, writes David Tanis
EVERYONE falls for the homey appeal of chicken potpie. And why not? The aromatic filling of chicken in gravy, the nicely browned pastry lid, the ritual of piercing the crust: The whole experience is memorable.
For most, it is a fond childhood memory — but not necessarily of a homemade treat made by a doting mother.
I mostly recall having chicken potpies when my mother didn’t feel like cooking. We children, fascinated by anything that came from the freezer section of the supermarket, were always thrilled. We each had our own little pie, baked in its own diminutive aluminium foil pan. Even if it was generic, bland chicken stew (and it was) encased in not very distinctive pie dough, it seemed wonderful. There was something attractive about the pies’ soggy bottoms, a contrast to the crisp tops.
For me, the frozen potpie has long since lost its attractiveness, but I confess to sometimes longing for a made-fromscratch version. Fortunately, in the era of frozen pastry dough, it’s not difficult to put together.
Rather than create miniature pies, I make them like turnovers or hand pies, folding the dough over the filling, so you can hold them with your fingers. Sometimes they are large, for dinner; sometimes bite-size, with drinks for a party. To make the job go faster, I use store bought puff pastry, with this caveat: Buy the real stuff, made with butter (read the label).
To make the filling, I roast whole chicken legs, then remove and chop the meat: Much simpler than breaking down a whole chicken. Softened onions, a bit of thyme and a splash of chicken broth are required, and a little creme fraiche never hurts. I find mushrooms to be the best vegetable to combine with the chicken, rather than the usual suspects, but frozen peas are an option.
This is an easy project, but you may want to approach it in stages. First, cook the chicken, as long as a day ahead. Make the filling when there is a convenient moment. The actual assembly and baking of the pies takes practically no time or effort. You can even freeze them, unbaked or baked in advance, to finish or reheat them at serving time if you wish.
The result tastes very homemade, and it mostly is. The buttery aroma and flaky crust added by the puff pastry give the humble potpie a certain elegance.